Chapter 21: Birthday Gifts
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The red jewel necklace I was gifted held special magical properties. According to my parents, it was specifically made by someone that my parents knew, who they called a Magic Jewel Maker.
From the looks of it, this red jewel seems to be some sort of high-quality magic material, possibly possessing quite a lot of mana and magic within it. Surprisingly, at the very moment I put it on, I felt a sudden soul connection with it. The word mystical would definitely sum up the feeling I got.
Soon, a glow of fiery red covered my neck before enveloping my face for a short instant. At that point, it was as if it covered my entire soul with a permeable membrane of magical fire, only to settle down at the end.
What was that? Perhaps this necklace can enhance my fire magic? With that question in mind, I tried to ask my parents about it as I ate cake.
“Yeah, it’s special. It can enhance the power and manipulation of your fire magic, dearie. We paid for it to be tailor-made so only you can use it,” mother replied.
“In other words, if anyone tries to take it away from you, the necklace might attack them,” father said, continuing where mother left off.
…..
“Eh?! That scary?”
“On top of that, it’s connected to your soul now that you wore it. Even if you take it off, you can still find it if you lose it through the soul connection,” mother added.
Well then. That’s very convenient.
“It’s a powerful accessory made with the red dragon’s magic crystal, bathed in its blood for a long time before being compressed through alchemy with many other materials. It’s definitely topnotch craftsmanship,” father told me sometime later.
“Who made it?” I asked.
“A good old friend of us. They call her the Witch of the Blue Mountain. She lives too far away from here, which is why she couldn’t come. However, this gift we gave her the materials for was made by her for free, so it’s also technically her gift to you,” mother answered.
“I see… I want to meet her and thank her…”
And maybe learn magic from her as well. Of course, I kept that to myself.
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll eventually meet her one of these days, dear… how’s the cake?” mother asked.
“It’s delicious! Can I have seconds?”
“Hahaha! This girl has quite the appetite. Little Aquarina can barely eat a plate…” Nepheline could not help but say in response to my request.
“She’s definitely a little eater,” Shade said while patting his daughter’s head.
“Cake is good…” Aquarina said. She was a bit messy when she was eating by herself. Her face was slightly covered with cream actually… now that I think about it, she looked so cute and clumsy…
“I am glad you like it, dear,” my mother replied to Aquarina’s compliment with a smile.
Moving cake aside, there were also the earrings gifted to me by Aquarina. They also held a strong magical power within them, but I couldn’t wear them yet because I haven’t pierced my ears yet. Mother told me I could do it a few more years from now, telling me that she didn’t want me to do it too young or else the pain would bother me a lot…
Well, I actually think I can bear the pain since I am already quite tough.
Anyways, Aquarina’s parents told me these earrings were made using the magic crystal of a monster my parents fought in the past with them and the other Heroes named Leviathan, the King of the Sea.
It was a powerful Demon General under the Demon King who ruled an area of the sea. It was a dangerous creature and due to it being a battle in the oceans, it was a very tough fight. However, they had to defeat him if they wanted to cross the oceans and reach the Demon Continent where the Demon King was hiding.
Such a wondrous story, it felt like it was pure fiction. But lo and behold, it had actually happened. In fact, I can already confirm it happen after seeing all these fantastical things.
Nevertheless, all they’ve gone through in the past was so amazing. It’s like an epic tale a child would listen to before going to sleep.
And to think these earrings were made from the parts of this mighty and gigantic snake-like sea creature… from what I could sense, they contain very strong Water-attribute mana from within.
I do wonder if I can wield Water attribute… I’ll have to try it out someday. Then again, thanks to the system and the Ember skill, I’m obviously more proficient with Fire.
Perhaps learning other elements wouldn’t be impossible… nevertheless, they’ll be pretty hard. But I think these earrings would be able to help me in that aspect… Damn it, why did they have to make them into earrings? If it was a ring, I could have worn it right away…
Oh well, I shouldn’t be ungrateful. I bet they wanted me to look pretty in these blue earrings… And to be honest, I also like how it looks. In my previous life, I didn’t have time to properly enjoy my life nor be as feminine as I wanted to be…
With that in mind, I’ll try to enjoy my feminine side some more in this life, if possible. Letting my hair grow longer, wearing cute dresses… it’ll definitely be fun.
Oh right, Shade and Nepheline revealed their titles to me when I asked them.
“I used to be the Hero of Dark Shadows, but I dislike this title,” Shade told me.
“And I used to be the Hero of Rock Hammer! Just so you know, I’m very proud of this title. In fact, it made my entire tribe very proud!” Nepheline said soon after.
They’re indeed quite different from one another. Shade’s very silent and reserved at times, often having a dead-serious expression on his face, bordering expressionlessness most of the time. Then again, when Aquarina’s around, he completely changes. She’s definitely his weakness, that’s for sure.
On the other hand, Nepheline’s very open, tends to laugh a lot, and talks very loudly. She’s prideful as well as emotional. In fact, one can clearly see what she’s thinking just by looking at her face expressions. I suppose that’s the reason why they fell in love with one another? Because they complemented each other’s personalities? I don’t know.
After the celebration of my birthday, we rested for a bit as my parents went and chatted with their friends.
As for me, I went to my room with Aquarina, showing her my books.
“Wow… you already know how to read…?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s not so hard…”
The language of this world looked pretty similar to the one in my previous life. However, the books I have right now aren’t that interesting. They’re just little fairy tales.
“Want me to teach you? Let’s try to read together.”
“O-Okay…”
Uwah… she’s such a cute little cinnamon roll…
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